I’m a little bit Country

Whenever I’m feeling vulnerable I reach for country music. It’s like bubble gum for the mind – aural comfort.

My dad was a Johnny Cash fan; my musician son cut his teeth on the guitar with Cash – the best always endure. So, of course, do the not so good – that’s my bubble gum! I make no apology for my love of unsophisticated tunes. It’s akin to appreciating steak, but fancying a burger every now and then.

Maybe it was the story-telling element that appealed to me as a kid, maybe it was the simple beats and uncomplicated melodies. I do remember being delighted by such lyrics as “if I said you had a beautiful body would you hold it against me?” and ” There’s been a load of compromisin’ on the road to my horizon…” that I thought were really clever. I was always a bit of a wordsmith.

In Country-world, the guys had a better time of it than the gals. They were expected to Stand by their Man even though: “you’ll have bad times while he has glad times, doin’ things that you don’t understand…” and you’ll have to beg unscrupulous harlots like Jolene not to “take” your man just because she can. And what about that poor girl who’s been told it’s over 10 times, despite the fact that Faron Young “saw more love in her eyes when I left her than most foolish men will ever see”? Dawn “woke up the wanting” in him – ahem – and now for the tenth time he’s changing his mind. Even as a youngster I remember thinking: I hope she tells him where to get off.

There aren’t many equal opportunities country songs that I know of. Maybe this one by Wynonna Judd. I’ve been singing along to this one today – you might have seen me batting down the M6.